Season 6, Episode 9 "Battle of the Bastards" Discussion Thread

[chamber-music]

"Remind them what happened, when Daenerys Stormborn and her dragons came to Meereen"

Lil Lyanna Mormont's distaste face is epic. If looks could kill Ramsay would not of lived to make that batttle.

I loved Tormund taking everything literally like the demons in his head.

 

[Verick808]

John has definitely been somewhat numb since his resurrection. Like he's just been going through the motions. Trying to save Rickon was prettyUchida the only thing he actually tried to do of his own volition since he has come back.

 

[Filmfan93]

This was truly a great episode. Sapochnik knows how to direct war scenes. He proved it once again here.

Favorite moments: Jon's tracking shot, Jon beating the breath out of Ramsay and seeing the dogs finally getting fed after 7 days of starving.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

The crew and director called that the "rebirthing shot". It's an apt name for it.

Nice. Honestly seeing again and thinking of it like that, a lot of my problems with the battle are gone. It was like Jon had to walk through hell to come back.

I would say when Rickon was shot was more of a 'wake up'... from then on out he just ****ing owned ass.

I felt like that was him kind of just giving into his emotions and in the process kind of giving up. He basically set himself and his army up to be killed right here.

 

[Marvolo]

Nice. Honestly seeing again and thinking of it like that, a lot of my problems with the battle are gone. It was like Jon had to walk through hell to come back.


I felt like that was him kind of just giving into his emotions and in the process kind of giving up. He basically set himself and his army up to be killed right here.

Yeah after Rickon got shot I got the impression that Jon "forgot" the stakes and the bigger picture and the army. After Rickon was shot Jon had one thing on his mind: get to Ramsay and beat him to death.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Yeah after Rickon got shot I got the impression that Jon "forgot" the stakes and the bigger picture and the army. After Rickon was shot Jon had one thing on his mind: get to Ramsay and beat him to death.

Yeah, he was working on emotions and forgot his task. Like Sansa told him, don't do what he wants you to do. He did and it almost cost them everything.

Kit, Sophie and Iwan brought the facial expressions. I love how you can see the course of the battle all on Ramsay's face.

 

[BestGirl]

So what do you guys think was the in-story reason for Sansa not at least sharing the information about her letter to the Vale with Jon? And do you think the reason was adequately explained?

Because I think the episode overall is still one of the best, but this seems to be the only real flaw with the characters and battle.

I guess it depends on how long it was between her sending the letter and the battle. If too much time had passed she may have assumed they weren't coming. She implied to Jon that she would commit suicide if they lost the battle which makes me think she didn't believe any allies were nearby that she could run to. But like Marvolo said, it seems that we'll get a conversation between Sansa and Jon on this very issue next episode.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

 

[Monochron]

 

[Schlosser85]

Awesome

 

[Verick808]

Honestly. Not a big fan of Danny. I used to like her but lately she seems more and more like Cersei. Everything is more and more about what she deserves. Small surprise Tyrion had to talk her out of burning cities to the groumd.

 

[Charlatan]

I am watching it again, for like the 4th time. I do not believe Jon says one intelligible word from the moment they line up to when he speaks to Sansa after the battle. I believe all he says is, "ya" to his horse to hurry it up and he tries to say something to the man he tries to talk to during the oner. That would mean he says like three words the entire battle. And yet all that emotion. Great work from Kit.

I also feel like surviving the almost suffocation and seeing Ramsay vulnerable finally woke Jon up. Like he wasn't really Jon since his return until that moment.

Pretty sure when he ran at the cavalry I heard him scream Leeeeroy Jeeeeeenkins!!!

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

Honestly. Not a big fan of Danny. I used to like her but lately she seems more and more like Cersei. Everything is more and more about what she deserves. She sounds more like Cersei than any other character. Small surprise Tyrion had to talk her out of burning cities to the groumd.

Eh, Cersei couldn't care less about the common man or slaves as Dany does. But Danaerys is a true Targaryen and they are a ruthless breed when it comes to their enemies and always have been. She is no exception.

Jorah, Barristan and now Tyrion are(were) there precisely to counsel temperance and that's OK. I want her to have to weigh some advice into these matters, not make perfect and wise decisions all the time inexplicably. Some people complain that she's boring, but that would be far worse. There's a dichotomy in her character with a potential for an internal struggle as she moves toward a strange tyranny with humanitarian goals, and all of that is far more interesting to me.

 

[TJByrum]

My only problem with the episode concerns the Knights of the Vale. They just seemed like faceless soldiers.

Ser Vardis (the guy who Bronn killed in season 1, at the Eyrie) is the only Knight of the Vale we really knew (Yohn Royce isn't the type of character I am talking about, so he doesn't count). I just wish one of the Knights had befriended Sansa while she was at the Eyrie, and maybe he was the one who led the charge in the BotB.

EDIT: I just felt we needed someone we could recognize in the entourage of knights that appeared.

 

[Marvolo]

My only problem with the episode concerns the Knights of the Vale. They just seemed like faceless soldiers.

Ser Vardis (the guy who Bronn killed in season 1, at the Eyrie) is the only Knight of the Vale we really knew (Yohn Royce isn't the type of character I am talking about, so he doesn't count). I just wish one of the Knights had befriended Sansa while she was at the Eyrie, and maybe he was the one who led the charge in the BotB.

EDIT: I just felt we needed someone we could recognize in the entourage of knights that appeared.

Its not different from when Stannis and his army came to the rescue at the end of season 4. Those were just faceless men. These types of big battles usually focus on the main characters in the battle. Not the random soldier.

 

[Thundercrack85]

One thing that did confuse me, who were Jon's cavalry?

 

[craigdbfan]

The battle was so well constructed by the way. May have been one of the best battles ever shown on screen with the likes of Saving Private Ryan and the like.

 

[Marvolo]

One thing that did confuse me, who were Jon's cavalry?

Probably Mormont knights and other Northern knights. There may have been some wildlings on some horses.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Probably Mormont knights and other Northern knights. There may have been some wildlings on some horses.

Did they get that many men? I just wish they had clarified that.

 

[Marvolo]

Did they get that many men? I just wish they had clarified that.

They had 62 from Mormont I think. And some from other houses. So maybe 100-150 knights total. Jon's cavalry wasnt that large.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

Did they get that many men? I just wish they had clarified that.

400 men from three houses, some mounted. The wildlings had no horses -these were the refugees evacuated from Hardhome in rowboats.

 

[Marvolo]

400 men from three houses, some mounted. The wildlings had no horses -these were the refugees evacuated from Hardhome in rowboats.

The northern House could have sent more horses than knights. If they did there may have been some Wildlings on horses.

 

[Thundercrack85]

It's too bad they couldn't find any of Stannis' old men.

 

[Reek]

i always say this, its better to just imagine the sellswords stannis bought just went to the boltons lol they attacked the same way and all so its better to think of it that way IMO.

 

[Marvolo]

i always say this, its better to just imagine the sellswords stannis bought just went to the boltons lol they attacked the same way and all so its better to think of it that way IMO.

That my head canon as well. That would have been their best option. They could either stay with Stannis, return to the Wall, walk off into the wilderness to who knows where, or go to Ramsay and sell their services to him and be on the side with a castle and the better chances.